With reading, it is becoming far too common that many people refuse to read because they do not enjoy it, or because they claim to get lost in the words in a state of confusion as if the words are being seen but not understood. This may not be because the topic is simply boring.
Reading, like all exchanges of information, requires effort and attention. It becomes an exercise to complete reading tasks. Similarly, we certainly should not expect a person who has barely picked up weights to be able to do the same workouts as those who are regularly practicing these same workout tasks; at least not to the same degree. Conducting small regular steps throughout our daily lives significantly improves our capabilities of accomplishing those tasks when it becomes more critical or falls under time constraints. With reading, it is best practice to, at least, read a short amount every day on the topics one cares about the most, or what is pertinent to their lives, tasks, or goals.
How do you find the best book to read?
Ask yourself the following questions to find the perfect book for your needs:
- What are some things I really want to know or learn?
- What topics do I get angry, frustrated, or lost in?
- What book(s) best answers these? (Browser or library search)
- Are the topics and books relevant to any particular goals I have?
One of the first things I learned along the way of political science and philosophy has been to read as much as possible. I began with many of the classics such as Bastiat’s The Law and Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson. I also read works by Plato, Aristotle, John Locke, Thomas Sowell, Mises, Hayek, both Milton and David Friedman, Tocqueville, C.S. Lewis, Adam Smith, Ayn Rand, Bertrand Russell, George H. Smith, Ron Paul, Lawrence Reed, Anscombe, David Boaz, Kant, Grotius, Pufendorf, Francis Hutcheson, Hume, Robert Nozick, Jefferson, Douglass, John Searle, and more. Not only did I find it necessary to read people that would help to shape my ideas and point me in various directions to where I would end up today, but I have also read and continue to read people that I disagree with, for the most part, such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Thomas Hobbes, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Piketty, John Rawls, John Maynard Keynes, Niccolo Machiavelli, Hegel, Heidegger, Peter Singer, Hilary Putnam, Quine, etc.
Interestingly, even with those that I adore and those that I dislike, I still find things I agree and disagree with for each of them. The only way to fairly judge their ideas is by reading them and finding what best works for you and reality. It strengthens your ideas and mind to think critically about everything you read, and to know the opposing views. The best way to understand your views is to question them and to hear out those of opposing views.
Another reason to read is to lessen your frustration when in discussions or debates with people. I found that if I was getting heated in the discussion over the topic, I should instead of arguing go and read more on the topic. The more we know of a subject, the less frustrated we should be when discussing that particular subject. In the end, however, some people will still disagree with you even if you show all evidence and carry a sophisticated discussion. That is okay. Learn to be okay with that. Continue to read current ideas and philosophical ideas for future experiences and thoughts to see if your ideas will change any further. Be sure to annotate and keep a journal of what you learn along with other ideas. Don’t stop learning. Be open to discussion and exchanging ideas, have an active ideologue, and take nothing for granted.
- Read to learn from those similar.
- Read to learn from those opposing.
- Read to be a more critical thinker.
- Read to help maintain your calm and your relationships.
- Keep copious notes.
- Read, Read, Read.
